Vehicles operating in an autonomous mode (e.g., driverless) can relieve occupants, especially the driver, from some driving-related responsibilities. When operating in an autonomous mode, the vehicle can navigate to various locations using onboard sensors, allowing the vehicle to travel with minimal human interaction or in some cases without any passengers.
For a given set of driving conditions, an autonomous driving vehicle (ADV) control system can determine control inputs such as steering, throttle, and braking. Over time, physical attributes of the vehicle can affect the effectiveness of the inputs at accurately maintaining course, speed, heading, safety, and passenger comfort. Tire wear, brake wear, shock absorber wear, state of front end alignment, state of the ignition and fuel delivery systems can all affect the performance of a vehicle. Human drivers naturally take these changes into account as they drive. Autonomous vehicle control systems currently do not take vehicle wear and aging into account when determining autonomous driving control inputs.